How to Succeed in this Course

If you observe that I "skip steps" while working through exercises in class, know that this is purposful.  You are meant to work through these steps on your own.  It is very important for you to practice your basic algebra and arithmetic skills.  Here are some autograded exercises for you to work through. 

Adding Fractions

Multiplying Fractions

Linear Equations I

Linear Equations II

Linear Inequalities I

Linear Inequalities II

Practice these calculuation until you are so fluent with them that you can perform them in your head without much effort.

Access all course materials through the POC Website, here: POCI.

Before lecture:

1. You will need to work through the Workbook before lecture and work through all of the examples associated with the sections that we will cover in lecture.  If you need help, study the annotated slides.  Each lecture will cover a set of Linguistic Mapping Exercises for the sections to be covered.

2. After you work through the workbook, practice the autograded Knowledge Checks.  Practice them again and again until you can reliably answer them correctly.  Recognize that, for the most part, these Knowledge Checks cover basic skills.  There is more to the class that the Knowledge Checks.

3. Carefully work through the Peer Engagement exercises for the sections to be covered and submit your work to Gradescope.  You will get credit for your submission.

During lecture:

4. Never miss lecture, there are quizzes each lecture that will prepare you for the P-level questions on the Final Exam.

5. Pay careful attention:  You cannot learn if you are distracted on your phone or computer.

6. Ask questions about anything that confuses you, or about anything that you would like to better understand.

7. If you do not know why a certain approach is taken, ask why!

During discussion section: 

8. Never miss discussion section.

9. Take the peer engagement sessions in discussion section seriously and be sure to thoughtfully fill out the surveys.  The introspection will help you to organize your own thoughts.

10. Use discussion section as an opportunity to ask question about your MyOpenMath homeworks.

After lecture:

11. Complete all of your MyOpenMathHomework.

12. Re-work the Linguistic Mapping Exercises.  Remember, solving a problem is not the end of your study, it is the beginning!  Go through problems in different ways, explain your solution to others, and try to discover new examples to which the ideas you have learned might apply.

13. Review the Workbook and make sure that all of your questions on the material have been answered.

14. Work through as many Core Exercises as possible. It is advisable to do them all.

15. Continue to practice the Knowledge Checks.

16. Come to office hours to discuss your thoughts with instructors.

17. If you have time, work through as many of the Basic Exercises as possible and the Worksheets.  The Worksheets will help you achieve a much deeper level of mastery.

Follow this link to my teaching page: Characteristics